George Russell refuses to call Kimi Antonelli a title rival despite Mercedes’ Australian GP one-two

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George Russell won the 2026 F1 Australian Grand Prix ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli for a Mercedes one-two, yet he carefully avoided legitimising his teammate’s title bid.

The Silver Arrows could not have asked for a better start to the season than a one-two finish and the first pole position of 2026. Russell flew around Albert Park during qualifying to score pole with a 1:18.518, as he beat Antonelli by 0.293s and Red Bull ace Isack Hadjar by 0.785s.

And while Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc fought Russell for the lead of the Australian GP after his rapid launch, Mercedes pitting the Briton and Antonelli under the early virtual safety car after Hadjar retired on Lap 11 of 58 ultimately set the Silver Arrows up to secure a one-two.

Russell now heads Antonelli atop the F1 drivers’ standings ahead of round two in China this weekend. Yet the 28-year-old, who started the 2026 season as the title favourite, was eager to avoid publicly naming Antonelli as a title rival in the days leading up to the Australian GP.

Victory for Russell in Australia! Is it the first of many for Mercedes in 2026?

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George Russell is reluctant to legitimise Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s 2026 F1 title credentials

That is according to Gazzetta dello Sport, which claims Russell ‘carefully avoided’ the idea of naming Antonelli as a contender for the 2026 F1 drivers’ championship in the days ahead of the Australian GP. Instead, Russell often sought to only identify title rivals from other teams.

READ MORE: Five things we learnt from the 2026 Australian GP after Oscar Piastri crashed

Russell chose to focus on the threats that Ferrari duo Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri may pose. In particular, he claimed how Norris winning the 2025 drivers’ title was now a source of personal motivation.

When it came to the possibility that Antonelli might fight for the title during what is only his second year in F1, Russell was ‘almost evasive’. He does not want to ‘legitimise’ the 19-year-old’s title credentials, with the sense being that he privately views his teammate as a threat.

Kimi Antonelli’s FP3 crash in Melbourne would have encouraged George Russell

True or false: Kimi Antonelli proved he can fight for the 2026 F1 title with his recovery in qualifying for the Australian GP?

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Russell’s reluctance to acknowledge Antonelli as a title threat ahead of the Australian GP will be put to the test if the Italian continues to produce tidy races over the first half of the term. But Russell will also know that the true test for Antonelli’s title credentials has yet to arrive.

Additionally, Antonelli crashing during FP3 at the Australian GP will have encouraged Russell, at least a little, as the Italian destroyed his car when there was no pressure on him. His crash almost denied him a chance to qualify, too, but Mercedes repaired his car just in time in Q1.

If Antonelli continues to make mistakes like his crash during FP3 on Saturday, his confidence may be put to the test. Russell saw how Antonelli lost confidence with Mercedes’ car during the 2025 season after struggling to adapt to how a rear suspension update changed his car.